IBM Shareholders Reject Cash Balance Vote

April 25, 2000 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - IBM shareholders
overwhelmingly rejected a nonbinding shareholder proposal
that would have called on the computer giant to offer all
employees the same choice in their pension plans.

However, the resolution was supported by nearly 30% of
the voting shareholders, according to a Reuters report,
nearly ten times the amount that proponents had hoped
for.

IBM changed its pension programs last year, switching
most employees to a cash-balance plan from its traditional
pension program. Cash balance plans allow employees to
accumulate benefits steadily over their careers, generally
better for younger, or more mobile workers. In conventional
pension plans, such as IBM’s, older workers accrue most of
their benefits in the last few years before retirement.

Following initial criticism of the move, IBM doubled the
number of employees eligible to choose between the two
programs. As a result, nearly half of their workforce of
145,000 had already been given a choice prior to today’s
vote.